Mar 25, 2011

Lip read and unveil one of Hollywood's best kept secrets!

"There is only one fitting way to end our discussion of The Quiet Man, and that's with a whisper. No matter what part of the world I'm in, the question I am always asked is: "What did you whisper into John Wayne's ear at the end of The Quiet Man? It was John Ford's idea; it was the ending he wanted. I was told by Mr. Ford exactly what I was to say. At first I refused. I said, "No, I can't. I can't say that to Duke." But Mr. Ford wanted a very shocked reaction from Duke, and he said, "I'm telling you, you are to say it." I had no choice, and so I agreed, but with a catch: "I'll say it on one condition -- that it is never ever repeated or revealed to anyone." So we made a deal. After the scene was over, we told Duke about our agreement and the three of us made a pact. There are those who claim that they were told and know what I said. They don't and are lying. John Ford took it to his grave --so did Duke-- and the answer will die with me. Curiosity about the whisper has become a great part of the Quiet Man legend. I have no doubt that as long as the film endures, so will the speculation. The Quiet Man meant so much to John Ford, John Wayne, and myself. I know it was their favorite picture too. It bonded us as artists and friends in a way that happens only but once in a career. That little piece of The Quiet Man belongs to just us, and so I hope you'll understand as I answer:

I'll never tell"

Well, someone uploaded this zoomed clip from the movie and asked people to try to lip-read it. Want to give it a try?

Before I even read your post I thought you must be referring to the little secret of "The Quiet Man" just by the title ;D I wish I could lip-read because I've been dying to know what she said for so long, lol. Maureen's cheeky little smile after she says it... oh gosh.

ClassicBecky: Sorry I hadn't seen your second comment. No, it's not me, I wish I was though: that's Audrey Hepburn sleeping with her pet deer.

And about Maureen's secret: like I said to Lola, I think it was something more scandalous, because Maureen wasn't a person who would be embarrassed of saying that line...it has to be something VERY rude, otherwise she wouldn't make such a fuss about it :)

Clara - I guess I'm going to have to try to read Maureen's lips after all (I'm imagining the scandalous things she might be saying). Before I saw Becky's comment I was thinking of posting about how much I love your photo of Audrey with fawn & the little Yorkie at the other end of the sofa...so...I love that classic picture of 3 beautiful creatures!

That's AUDREY HEPBURN? I suppose you all think I have a lot of nerve, but I swear she looks just like me at 15 or 16. But I certainly never looked like her any other time. Must be the pose and the couch! LOL

I agree, Clara, I think Maureen must have been a little more raunchy in what she said. After all, she was a full-of-fire, gorgeously earth Irish woman! Maybe it's better not to know. It would be such a disappointment to find that she said something like "I think Tyrone Power is much cuter than you are." LOL

Clara, I loved your post about the marvelous Maureen O'Hara's mysterious murmurings to John Wayne at the end of THE QUIET MAN! Keeping it a charming mystery is probably best, but I like to think O'Hara said something along the lines of "Impetuous! Homeric!" :-) Well, maybe one day we'll find out what Bill Murray said to Scarlett Johansson at the end of LOST IN TRANSLATION, and we can work our way up to solving the Maureen O'Hara whisper mystery; baby steps, you know! :-)

Thanks, DorianTB, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had no idea about the mystery from Lost in Translation, now we have two missions to accomplish :) And, well, if we don't solved them, the fact they kept it secret all these years is really interesting anyway :)Thanks for stopping by!

That's AUDREY HEPBURN? I suppose you all think I have a lot of nerve, but I swear she looks just like me at 15 or 16. But I certainly never looked like her any other time. Must be the pose and the couch! LOL

I agree, Clara, I think Maureen must have been a little more raunchy in what she said. After all, she was a full-of-fire, gorgeously earth Irish woman! Maybe it's better not to know. It would be such a disappointment to find that she said something like "I think Tyrone Power is much cuter than you are." LOL

ClassicBecky: Sorry I hadn't seen your second comment. No, it's not me, I wish I was though: that's Audrey Hepburn sleeping with her pet deer.

And about Maureen's secret: like I said to Lola, I think it was something more scandalous, because Maureen wasn't a person who would be embarrassed of saying that line...it has to be something VERY rude, otherwise she wouldn't make such a fuss about it :)

I have watched this film every now and then since I was a child. I am partially deaf and lip read quite well. I can not say for 100% this is what she said, but to my eyes it seems she say's "John if you want to get screwed, then go f--k yourself" she is smiling as she says it so it is hard to make out all the consonants, but this is what it looks like she says.

At one time, like Maureen O'Hara never tells the secret, Herbert Benton Connor, a relative of Napoleon, never tells his age to anybody. All of a sudden, some one searched his birth date and he was only 83.

Like Maureen O'Hara, Yuri Nosenko did not tell his new name to the public due to the witness protection program. He said, "He was nobody. He was a tumbleweed. To recruit such person who defected in Russia, American, returns back in America and to give him mission to kill, no way. KGB never will go on this. Never. Because it’s so obvious.” He is like “George in the Mask.” Well done, Yuri.

"Clara over at Via Margutta has such an amazing blog. It's got a great design and she always has interesting and creative posts, for example this Gift guide for Classic Movie Fans or fun games like When I Say You Say. I don't comment nearly as much as should—that should change! Check her out, you won't be sorry!"